Visual Impairments Special Needs Factsheet

What Teachers Should Know

Visual impairment is a term used to describe any kind of noncorrectable vision loss, whether it's complete blindness or partial vision loss. About 10 million people in the United States are visually impaired.

Common refractive errors such as near-sightedness and far-sightedness can be corrected with glasses or contacts. But when one or more parts of the eye or brain that are needed to process images become diseased or damaged, severe or total loss of vision can occur. In these cases, vision can't be fully restored with medical treatment, surgery, or corrective lenses.

Causes of visual impairments among kids and teens include:

amblyopia or "lazy eye"

strabismus (misaligned or crossed eyes)

birth defects

eye or brain injuries

Students with visual impairments may:

need seating accommodations to help them see you or whiteboards, blackboards, overhead displays, etc.

need to wear glasses, use magnifiers, or use extra lighting for class work

require large printed handout materials or audio books for reading

need voice-activated computers or other assistive technology

need someone to assist in taking notes

need extra time to get to classes or complete assigned work

need to go to the school nurse for medication or assistance with visual concerns

miss class time to see doctors

Signs of a possible vision problem in a student who hasn't been diagnosed with a visual impairment include:

constant eye rubbing or chronic redness of eyes

extreme light sensitivity

squinting, closing one eye, or misaligned eyes

poor focusing or difficulty following objects

inability to see objects at a distance

inability to read a whiteboard or blackboard, etc., or difficulty reading

What Teachers Can Do

Students with visual impairments should be encouraged to participate in all classroom activities, physical education, and extracurricular activities. Make sure your classroom is easy to move around in and free from obstacles.

Students with visual impairments may feel self-conscious about their condition. They also might be a target for bullying.

Visual impairments can be wide ranging, so each student's needs must be considered on an individual basis.